


V is for Vaselov

by GateGremlyn



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 20:29:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1701515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GateGremlyn/pseuds/GateGremlyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexi Vaselov deserved to be remembered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	V is for Vaselov

V is for Vaselov

Written for [](http://sg-fignewton.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://sg-fignewton.livejournal.com/) **sg_fignewton** 's Alphabet Soup  
Rated: G (just a couple of bad words)  
Word Count: 846  
Tag for _Lockdown_ (Season 8: Episode 3)

_In_ Lockdown _, Colonel Vaselov, an experienced and decorated Russian officer, comes to join the Stargate program, now under the command of General O'Neill. Unbeknownst to Vaselov, he has been possessed by Anubis, who is trying to escape through the Stargate. Anubis leaves Vaselov and invades Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, and Jack O'Neill, before returning to Vaselov. Vaselov, already dying from the damage caused by the earlier possession, walks through the Stargate and freezes to death on an alien planet._

~::~

Jack ran his fingers through his hair and cursed the endless piles of paperwork that paraded across his desk. This... this is why he didn't want to be “the man.” He sighed, scrawled his signature, and reached for the next pile. A knock at the door gave him a momentary reprieve. “Come.”

“Hey.” Daniel stood in the doorway in a smart gray suit and tie.

“What do you want?” Jack snapped.

“Nothing. Why?”

“Everybody wants something.” He waved a hand over the mounds of paper. 

“Ah, the burdens of command,” Daniel muttered. “And I do have a request, now that you bring it up.”

“Yeah?”

“I'd like to request that people stop zatting me—especially members of my team.”

“Is there a form for that?”

“I'd be willing to create one,” Daniel offered.

“Fine. Create one, fill it out in triplicate, and put it on my desk so I can ignore it.” Jack sighed again. “Is it time?”

“Five minutes,” Daniel said. “I just wanted to know if you were ready.”

“Do I have to say anything?”

“It's all taken care of. You just have to be there.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jack capped the pen and stood up. He shrugged his arms into the jacket of his dress blues, another reason he didn't want to be “the man.”

“Who's delivering the eulogy?”

“Colonel Chekov. He's one of the few people who knows about the program and knew Colonel Vaselov.”

They took the stairs slowly, Jack straightening his tie on the way down. “One of the worst things about the program is that we can't tell the families what happened.”

“I know.”

“The man dies a hero, and the best we can say is 'he died serving his country.' We can't even say he died saving the whole damn world.”

“I know. But it's this or nothing.”

Jack didn't respond because they'd rounded the corner to the gateroom. All of the teams currently on planet stood at attention, awaiting his arrival. The Russian team stood a little to one side and the gap between them and the others, while not large in terms of distance, was huge in terms of attitude.

He knew why. People needed an adversary; they needed someone to blame, and the Russians had chosen their longtime enemies, the Americans. It wasn't personal; Jack knew that, too. These men and women were under his command, and they were as good at their jobs as anybody in the room. But they were hurting. A countryman, a national hero, had died, and they couldn't tell a soul why. They felt the sting of secrecy more than anyone.

Jack spotted Colonel Chekov by the podium, his head down and his hands behind his back. Leaving Daniel at the door, he made his way to the man who had been an enemy and was now an ally if not a friend. He put out his hand.

“Colonel Chekov, I want you to know how sorry I am about what happened. Colonel Vaselov's sacrifice won't be forgotten.”

“General O'Neill--” Chekov accepted the handshake but wouldn't meet his eyes.”--and yet you wouldn't put him on SG1.” His voice was low enough not to carry, but Jack heard the reprimand in it.

“If he'd been here long enough to go through the proper training, I might have,” Jack firmed his grip, making Chekov look at him. “I have a responsibility to my people—our people. You know that.”

Chekov stared at him and the handshake became almost a tug of war. Finally, Chekov sighed—a sound Jack was far too familiar with today. “I know.” Their hands dropped. “Is Anubis dead?”

Jack wanted to tell him “yes.” He wanted to say that Vaselov's death had also brought about the end of Anubis, but the two of them dealt in realities.

“I don't know,” he admitted. “He won't be bothering us for a while at least.”

Chekov nodded sharply before he walked to the podium.

Jack turned to look for Daniel, Carter, and Teal'c. He still gravitated to his team even if they weren't “his” team anymore. He found them, not in the spots they'd been assigned but with the Russians. He walked down the ramp to join them.

There was barely perceptible shift as the everyone closed ranks to honor one of their own and they became Stargate Command.

Colonel Chekov nodded again. Then he began, “Colonel Alexi Vaselov was a much-decorated Russian officer and a friend. He gave his life in the service of this planet. We who also serve gather today to honor his sacrifice ....”

Once this ceremony was over, Jack thought, he needed to have Daniel walk him through the logistics of adding another Russian team. It was time. Even if he didn't want to be “the man,” maybe he could make it count for something. But for now, Jack listened.

~::~  



End file.
